Clear Eyes
by QuillVA
Summary: Jeremy is spinning out of control, and it's up to Elena to reign him back in. One of my first stories without a warm and fuzzy ending, but that's because I'm probably going to fanfic the entire series. Warning: Contains Spanking. Don't like, don't read.
1. Chapter 1

**Clear Eyes**

"I'll be right back", Elena told Bonnie, heading off to the boys bathroom. Her friend stayed behind to keep her eyes on the gorgeous new student at school. Or at least, he was probably gorgeous. Right now there was just Elena burst into the bathroom to find her younger brother putting in eye drops at the sink. She growled inwardly. Jeremy was in so much trouble. Pacing over to him, Elena grabbed the freshman by the face.

"Great", she said, checking his eyes, "It's the first day of school and you're stoned"

"No. I'm not"

"Where is it? Is it on you?" She started to check his pockets and coat. Jeremy blocked her with his hands.

"Stop. I don't have anything on me. Are you crazy?"

"You have not seen crazy, Jeremy. I gave you a summer pass, but I am done watching you destroy yourself", Jeremy got up to walk away, but his older sister pushed him back down.

"No. Go ahead. Keep it up. But just know that I am going to be there to ruin your buzz every time. You got it?", she looked into his eyes, " Jeremy, I know who you are, and it's not this person. So don't be this person."

"I don't need this", the brown haired rebel said, getting up to walk away. Elena had enough. She knew that this attitude wasn't going to go away if she kept ignoring it.

"Stay", she said in a tone Jeremy recognized immediately. He swallowed hard and for some reason, couldn't bring himself to disregard what she said. Turning, he rolled his eyes.

"What? What do you want?", he said in a pitch a little higher than he intended.

"Look, I tried to do this the nice way, and say my encouraging words and get through to you, but that's obviously not working. So, lock the door"

"Wait, what? I'm not gonna… Are you crazy"

"Call me crazy again, Jeremy. I dare you"

"But, are you going to… You can't do that here. We're… Come on…"

"Seriously, would you rather leave the door unlocked or should I spank you in the hallway? How about in your first period? Because, I can do that too. Or, you can actually start listening to what I say, and lock the door. Your choice", after a moment's hesitation, Jeremy reluctantly turned and locked the door. He looked a lot younger when he turned back than he had a moment before.

"Elena, come on. I'm sorry I got an attitude. And, I'm not even high. I swear."

"Oh, wow. You just dug yourself deeper. Did you really think that you weren't in enough trouble without adding LYING on top of it", Elena backed Jeremy up against the door. He looked almost as scared as he should have been. Almost. Elena calmed a little.

"Sink", she said pointing. Jeremy slowly dropped his bookbag and made his way to bend over the sink. Elena stopped him, "Take your pants down and hand me your belt. You lost your jeans when you decided to lie"

"Elena-"

"Jer. Now", he did as he was told, huffing in frustration and bending over the sink. He braced himself for the first blow. Elena's spankings were different from his parents. They always lectured before theirs, which Jeremy had hated. Elena figured that if you were being spanked, you probably knew why, and lecturing wouldn't make much of a difference.

_Aah._

The first lick landed hard. Jeremy hadn't been spanked since before the accident, and he'd almost forgotten how much it hurt.

_Oww. Sss. Aah._

Elena kept up a quick, steady rhythm, alternating between Jeremy's bottom and thighs. She always knew how to break her brother down in the smallest amount of time; a skill she learned so that she could wind up the spankings more quickly. She hated disciplining her brother, and she'd only had to do it sporadically while they were growing up. But with their parents out of the picture, and Aunt Jenna being… well Aunt Jenna, it was up to her to keep him in check.

_Owwhow. Ssss. Please. Okay. Okaaaaaaay. I'm sorry. Owwwww._

Elena moved her focus to the most sensitive spot on the boys bottom, between his butt and thighs, drawing first squeals then sobs from the boy. He stopped bucking after a few more swats.

_Oww, Elena. Please._

The small plea was too much for her. She put the belt on the sink next to her brother and leaned next to him. Brushing his hair from his eyes and wiping his tears, she kissed him on the forehead.

"I will _not_ let you ruin yourself. Do you understand me?" Jeremy nodded and sniffled as his sister handed him some paper towels. He wiped off his face and splashed some water to get rid of the redness. A lot of good those eye drops had done.

"Okay, now go to class. Straight to class. And, Jeremy, if I even hear a rumor about you skipping…"

"You won't Elena", he said, rolling his eyes. A quick look from the girl changed his attitude, "Sorry! Sorry. You won't, okay?"

He unlocked the door and headed to class right as the bell rang. Elena cursed to herself and hurried out of the bathroom, running straight into a handsome new student. The one she and Bonnie had been looking at.

"Hi. I'm Stefan Salvatore"

"Umm. Elena. Elena Gilbert"

"Pleasure to meet you, Elena"

"Yeah, umm. You too."

He walked into the bathroom. And for some reason, Elena felt herself smiling for the first time in months.


	2. Chapter 2

_Dear Diary,_

_For the first time in a long time, I feel good._

That hadn't lasted long. Between Stefan's secret brother and ex-girlfriend, Aunt Jenna's freak-outs, and Jeremy's attitude, the good feeling had long since fled. And now, Tyler dropped the bomb that Jeremy was _dealing._ Dealing? Elena knew that he still wasn't off drugs, but now he was _selling_ them?

"Oh no, no, no. You are coming with me.", Elena pulled her brother by the arm "So, that's your game now? Dealing?"

"I'm not dealing", Jeremy said, with just a little too much attitude for his sister's taste.

"Look, I'm sick of the tough love speech, Jeremy. It's clearly having no impact", Jeremy didn't hear the warning in her voice.

"You and Jenna. Between the two of you, it's enough already"

"We could stop it if you want. We could send you to therapy, or rehab. Or you could talk to me"

"I vote for none of the above", scowling, he started to walk away. Elena caught his arm, seething.

"Look, I turned a blind eye the other day when you came in the house high. And I've been sitting back, because Jenna asked me to let her handle you. But dealing is where I draw the line"

"Oww, let go of my arm. It's embarrassing", Jeremy twisted his arm away and turned again, but his sister whirled him back around by a shoulder.

"If you really want to see embarrassing, try to walk away from me again. I will pull your pants down in the middle of this bar", Jeremy looked around to make sure no one heard.

"Okay, okay. You've got my attention. So why don't you just make your speech, so I can go?" Elena stepped towards her brother and his casual stance tensed.

"You want my speech. Okay. I'm going to say this just once. I am not Aunt Jenna. I don't make empty threats to ground you, or waste my breath yelling. I am not one of your little stoner friends that you can talk to however you feel like. I am your big sister and if you ever talk to me that way again I will beat your ass so bad you won't sit for days. Am I clear?", Jeremy nodded, looking around again. Thankfully, no one was within hearing distance, although Tyler Lockwood did have an obnoxious grin on his face.

"Get your stuff and go home _now_. Because the "speech" that I'm going to give you is not one you want me to make in public", Jeremy looked up into his sister's face, eyes widening. He grabbed his jacket and squeezed past her, hoping that she hadn't meant what he thought she did.


	3. Chapter 3

Jeremy lay on his bed tossing a hacky sack toward the ceiling. Waiting was the worst. He wasn't even sure if he was going to get a spanking, and here he was worrying about it and how bad it was going to be. This was so unfair. He wasn't even technically dealing drugs; he was just giving them out to friends. It wasn't like he was selling them. And to be outed by Tyler Lockwood? Of all the douchebags in the world, it had to be _that _douchebag. This totally sucked. And to top it all off, he was still sore from the last spanking he'd gotten a few days ago. He'd just started sleeping on his back again. But, then again, maybe he wouldn't get spanked after all. Elena had seemed pretty mad, but she'd had time to cool down, right?

Elena walked into the room without knocking. Seeing the look on her face, Jeremy missed catching the hacky sack and let it fall on his chest. Wrong. He had been wrong. He felt the tears in his throat already. This was going to be bad. Elena took a deep breath to calm herself while she closed the door. The drive home had done nothing to calm her down. She pulled her thick brown belt from her jeans and sat in the chair across from her brother's bed.

"Okay, Jeremy. I'm not really big into lecturing, so let me just tell you how this is going to play out. You are not going to speak unless I ask you a direct question. You are going to do everything I say, without even a hint of attitude. And when this spanking is over, you are going to hand over every drug in this room."

"Elena, I don't have any-", in a second, Elena was across the room, pulling Jeremy up from the bed. She brought the belt down hard, spanking as much as she could with him dodging the blows. After a moment she stopped and pushed him to a seated position on the bed.

"Agh", the fifteen year old squirmed on the bed, trying to find a comfortable position, but not daring to get up again.

"I said you were not allowed to speak unless I asked you a direct question. Now do you want to add any more extras to this spanking?"

"No", Jeremy said huffily, finding himself yanked up again a second later. Elena brought the belt down again, spanking him for longer this time. She released him again. The boy moaned.

"What was the second thing I said Jeremy?" she tapped the belt on her thighs.

"Umm. I don't remember. Do what you say, I think"

"Do what I say…", she waited for him to finish.

"Without an attitude?"

"Exactly. See, your drug dealing got you that inspirational pep talk at the bar. Your attitude got you the spanking that you're about to get. So if you don't want more, I'd keep the attitude to a minimum. Clear?" he nodded.

"Good. Now lay down on the bed."

Jeremy flipped himself over so that he was face down on the bed. He grabbed his pillow and buried his face in it. Somehow, right before a spanking, it always seemed like if you couldn't see the belt, it wouldn't hurt as much. As usual, the first stroke proved that theory wrong.

_Ssss_

Jeremy gritted his teeth through the first few blows. Between the spanking he'd had days before and the spankings he'd gotten moments before, his bottom was already more than a little tender. He tried to move onto his side to dodge the belt, but Elena put a hand on his back. It was firm enough to hold him down, but gentle enough to calm him a little. She'd learned that from his mom. On the rare occasions that Miranda Gilbert had done the spanking, she'd always put a hand on his back so he'd know she still cared in spite of the punishment.

_Agh. . Owww._

His dad had done it another way. He would lecture before the spanking of course, but during, he would say things like 'I'm only doing this because I love you' or 'I want you to grow up to be the man I know you can be' or the one Jeremy had hated most of all 'You are so much better than your actions'. It used to annoy him. Now he just missed it. All of it.

_Oww. I'm sorry. Aahow._

Elena realized something was wrong when Jeremy started to sob so early on, and then she recognized it. The hand on his back. Their mom had always… She sat next to him on the bed, rubbing circles into his back.

"I miss them too, Jer. So much. But, they would hate to see what you're doing to yourself. _I_ hate to see what you're doing to yourself, Jer. It's gotta stop"

Jeremy didn't move. He cried into his pillow. After a while, Elena got up and left the room, knowing there was nothing she could do to comfort him.


	4. Chapter 4

_Dear Diary,_

_So much has happened in so little time. My best friend is a witch, my boyfriend is a vampire, and now, I have to deal with the thought of losing him. Maybe Bonnie is right. What future could I possibly have with Stefan? We can never grow old together, or have children. And how do I keep the ones I love safe? Around Stefan people die. But how can I let him go, when I know in my heart that I love him?_

Career day is especially bleak when you're thinking about not having a future. Elena looked through the different classrooms robotically, her mind on other things. It was a welcome relief when she ran into Matt. Even with all the awkwardness in their relationship, he was always nice to talk to.

"Still want to be an astronaut", she joked.

"I was eight", he said smiling. They exchanged memories laughing. Matt asked about Stefan and Elena's face dropped. He was the last thing she wanted to talk about. Especially with Matt. And, there Stefan was in the doorway ready to talk about their non-future.

"Hide me", Aunt Jenna hurried in, interrupting their conversation, "The Scumfell has landed"

"Logan's here?", Elena groaned.

"Wait. Logan Fell?" Stefan asked. The girl nodded, confused. "Why don't you and Jenna go someplace else?"

Elena nodded and took her aunt into the lobby, passing by the room where Jeremy was looking at art. When he saw Tyler Lockwood's paintings, he sought him out.

"I didn't know you drew", he said, catching him in the hallway.

"It's an elective", Tyler responded curtly.

"Cuz it's good stuff. Are you into graphics 'cuz that's kind of my thing"

"Whoa", Tyler said, stopping the conversation, "What are you doing?"

"Well it's just something else we have in common"

"And what's the other thing? Vicki? Let's be friends because we did the same chick? Go hang out with one of the many other guys she screwed. There's no shortage of them", Jeremy felt his rage boil up. He pushed Tyler against the lockers wrestling with him until Mayor Lockwood and Alaric, the new history teacher, came to break it up. The mayor took the boys outside daring them to fight. He blocked Jeremy from leaving and pushed his son into the boy. Alaric came out in time to see it.

"What's going on here?" he questioned, standing down the bullying man, "You keep this up and it'll be you and me in this parking lot. You cool with that?"

"Just watch yourself", the mayor said, leading his son away. Jeremy smirked.

"You alright?" Alaric asked him, in a less than friendly tone. Jeremy nodded and erased his smile.

"Now that we've settled that issue, you wanna tell me the reason you're picking fights at school functions?", Jeremy rolled his eyes. Everyone was always so concerned with things that were none of their business.

"Look, it was no big deal"

"You're not helping your case Gilbert. If it was a big deal, maybe you'd have an excuse. As of now, it looks like you just got into a pissing contest with some school jock for no reason. Now, would you like to tell me _why_?"

"I don't really see how that's any of your business", the teenager huffed. Alaric felt his temper rise. He gritted his teeth to stay calm.

"None of my business, huh", he laughed drily, "Alright. Well, we tried to do this the easy way, but I can see you don't really like talking, so let's just get straight to the point. Come over here and hand me your belt."

"I'm not handing you anything", Jeremy scoffed, eyes widening.

"Corporal punishment is still in effect at this school. It's severely underused in my opinion. But, you don't have to worry about that. You'll get enough of it tonight. Now, hand me your belt"

"No"

"Jeremy"

"I can't…"

"Gilbert", Alaric stepped towards Jeremy, and the boy stumbled back.

"No, I mean, I can't. I'm not wearing a belt, Mr. Saltzman. I can't.", Alaric almost laughed at the pitiful expression on Jeremy's face. The kid had either never had a spanking in his life, or he'd had enough to be plenty scared of them. By the way his tone had changed from belligerent to respectful, Alaric guessed it was the latter.

"Oh. Okay then. Just come over here", Alaric slipped his own belt out of the hooks. Jeremy gulped and came towards him, flinching when Mr. Saltzman grabbed his arm. The teacher brought his belt down hard, and Jeremy bucked to get away. This was so much worse than Elena's spankings.

"Stay still Gilbert. The more you move, the longer this is going to last", Alaric nodded his approval when he saw Jeremy attempt to stand in one spot, even though he struggled to do it.

"You are not to fight on school grounds, do you understand that?"

"Y-yes sir. Owwww."

"I've seen your potential Gilbert, and I don't want you screwing it up over some childish nonsense. Are we clear?"

"Oww. Please. Alaric. Dude, it huuuuurts"

"I said, are we clear", Alaric said, putting a little more force behind the blows.

"Yes siiiiir. Aahowww"

"You are so much better than these actions, Jeremy", the familiar words drew sobs from the boy, and Alaric finished up with a few more hard swats. Spinning Jeremy back around he wrapped him in a hug. After a moment Jeremy hugged back, crying into his teachers shoulder until his sobs calmed.

"You took that spanking well. And owning up to your mistakes, facing the consequences, that's what makes you a man. Not fighting. You understand", Jeremy nodded.

"Alright, why don't you run to the bathroom and clean yourself up. I have to take care of a few things. You going to be okay?" another nod and Jeremy was off to the bathroom. Alaric sighed. The kid had so much potential. He hoped the kid would learn to use it. For now, though, Saltzman had other things on his mind. Namely Logan Fell. He was supposed to be dead.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Why do I look like her?**_

_Owww. Stefan, I'm sorry okay? I won't do it again I promise. Owwwwwww._

How in the world had she gotten herself into this position? Everything had been going so smoothly. She and Stefan had made sweet, fantastic love and now, she was over his knee, getting the worst spanking she'd ever had. This was totally Damen's fault. Or Katherine's. And maybe a little bit of her's, but mostly Damen. If he hadn't practically kidnapped her into going to Georgia, she wouldn't be getting this spanking right now.

_Owwwwwwww. Look, Stefan. I'm sorreee._

"No you're not", Stefan said, smiling at his girlfriend's obvious lack of sincerity, "I can practically feel you blaming this on other people. Damen was wrong to take you to Georgia, but that's not why I'm spanking you and you know it, don't you"

_Owww. Yeeessss._

Elena knew that he couldn't read her mind, but half of the time, he might as well have been able to. He always knew what she was thinking. So, okay, maybe it was sort of her fault a little bit. But still, this spanking was so unfair.

"And, why are you getting spanked?"

_Owww. Stefan, come ooooon. I'm sorry! Owwwwww._

"Elena. Why are you being spanked?"

_Aaahhhooow. The neeecklace. Baaaaabe, pleeeease._

"Uh uh. Not that easy. What about the necklace"

_I… owww. I… owwww. I took it off. Owwwwwww. I should have kept it on, so nobody could compel me. I'm sorry Stefan. Really._

Elena meant what she said. Thinking back, although she could hardly think of anything with the pain in her behind, she had been stupid to take off the necklace. I mean, sure, it was a token of their relationship and she had been pretty mad at him, but it also kept her from being compelled. By vampires like Damen. Or whoever it was that she'd hit in the road. And with the Logan Fell incident right behind them, she could kind of understand why Stefan had resorted to spanking. Her behind disagreed, but that was another story.

_Stefan, please. I learned my lesson. I'm so sorry. Owwwwwww. Pleeeeease._

Finally, Stefan stopped. He deftly flipped Elena around so that she was sitting on his lap. She hugged his neck, burrowing her head in his shoulder. He gently stroked her hair.

"You know, I hate to do that to you. It hurts me to see you in pain, even a little. But, Elena", he pulled back so that he could look into her eyes, "If you put yourself in harm's way again, you will find yourself right back here, every time. Is that clear?", Elena nodded, sniffling. She buried her head again, inhaling his scent. He loved her. He did.


	6. Chapter 6

"_I shot a hybrid in the back and chopped his head off with a meat cleaver. Typical Sunday, huh?"_

Jeremy turned down the sympathy and advice from his guardian and walked past Alaric resigned to his new life. The man let him go for a moment until something he'd said caught his attention.

"Wait, Jer. You said you shot him in the back, right? How did you shoot him in the back? My weapons were inside on the table."

"I, uh.. I already had a crossbow with me. I came up when he was facing Elena in the doorway"

"You already had a crossbow? One of mine?"

"Uh, yes sir", Alaric narrowed his eyes. He only heard a 'yes sir' from the kid when he knew he was in trouble.

"What exactly were you doing with one of my weapons, Jeremy?"

"Alaric, come on, it's been a long day..."

"You're not making it any shorter avoiding my question. Now tell me, what were you doing with a dangerous weapon? A dangerous weapon that does not belong to you and you had no permission to use" Jeremy sighed and crossed his arms. Alaric was used to the boy's stubbornness and took a step closer as a warning.

"Ric, okay! Me and Tyler were shooting it in the woods earlier. Just cans and stuff. And then when everything happened, I just kind of got mad. I went out into the woods to look for him. Look, I'm sorry I took your bow, but maybe you shouldn't just leave them out everywh-", Jeremy winced as he was grabbed by the collar and shoved into the passenger seat of his own truck.

"Keys.", Alaric growled, snatching them out of the teenager's hand and climbing into the driver's seat.

"Glad you're feeling better", Jeremy mumbled under his breath, not missing the glare he got from his guardian for the comment.

The ride to the apartment took eleven minutes, but it seemed much shorter to the teenager. He had been hoping it would last long enough for him to think of a valid excuse. When they pulled up at Alaric's apartment, Jeremy gave up hope for a lecture or a few days grounding. Alaric brought him to the apartment sometimes when he didn't want to upset Elena. He climbed out of the truck slowly, knowing what waited inside. Alaric was definitely a hands-off guardian, usually more like a roommate, but when he got angry... well, Jeremy had had enough nights sleeping on his stomach after a rough argument with Ric. He was not looking forward to another.

"Dammit", he mumbled again.

Alaric flicked on the lights in the apartment and went into the bedroom. Jeremy reluctantly made his way over to the couch and sat down. Biting his nails, he listened to Ric rummaging through drawers, probably searching for a belt.

"Come on Ric", he called to him when he heard another drawer shut, "I've been through a lot today. Do we really have to top it off with you beating my ass? I'm sorry. I won't touch your stuff"

Alaric appeared with a worn down ping pong paddle in his hand. He laid it on the table in front of Jeremy and sat on the seat across from him.

"This isn't about you touching my stuff and you know it. This is about you putting your life in danger. Playing with weapons. Flunking your classes. You're on a downward spiral, Jeremy"

"You sound just like Elana"

"Well, maybe Elana's right"

"Maybe it's none of your business"

"Maybe you need to tone down your attitude considering I'm already about to paddle your ass", Jeremy rolled his eyes and huffed, sitting back. Gritting his teeth, Alaric decided to try a different approach.

"Look, Jeremy. None of us want this for you. No one wants you to have to cut off heads and see ghosts, but you said it yourself. That's how things are now. But if you want to keep yourself sane, you've got to be rooted in some sort of normality. That's why I'm still teaching, why Elana and Bonnie and hell, even Caroline haven't let their grades slip", Jeremy looked at the ground. He understood what Alaric was saying and knew it was true. He cringed at the next words from his teacher's mouth.

"Now, if you can honestly tell me that you don't think you deserve this, I'll drive us home and leave it at that", the boy stayed silent.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Take off the jeans and bend over the back of the sofa"

Jeremy obeyed, managing not to let his eyes water too much. He stared down vampires and killed hybrids, but the thought of one of Alaric's spankings made him want to crawl under the sofa and hide. Alaric tapped the paddle to his bottom for a moment before bringing it back down with a loud smack. Jeremy bit his lip and let out a groan as the paddle came down again. Alaric kept up the fast, steady rhythm of spanks. After a few minutes he started to get concerned. Usually Jeremy would have been sobbing by this point in the spanking, but the boy seemed to be using every bit of control he had not to cry. Ric had seen for weeks that Jeremy needed curbing and he'd been planning to give him a light spanking when he learned that he'd lost his job. But it wasn't just an attitude adjustment that he needed. He needed an outlet, a chance to let out all his emotions and a clean slate. But Alaric could see him fighting it with everything he had. He put down the paddle for a moment and Jeremy tried to raise himself off of the couch, only to be stopped by his guardian. He looked back to see Ric take off his belt.

"Wait, Ric. What are you doing"

"Spanking you", Alaric brought the belt down hard.

"Oww. Wait, no. Why am I getting... Ow. Wait, Ric, it hurts"

"It's supposed to hurt, Jeremy", he put more strength behind his swats as he heard Jeremy's voice start to break a little. He wanted this to be over as much as the kid.

"Alaric. It's, agh, it's owwwwwww. It's not fair"

"What's not fair, Jeremy?"

"It's owww... Pleease"

"What's not fair, Jeremy?"

"None of it, okay. Owwwww. Nothing is fair anymore", the boy finally broke down, sobbing over the back of the couch. Alaric put the belt aside and pulled Jeremy into a hug. He let him cry until he heard the sobs turn to sniffles. After a moment, Ric heard a mumble in his shirt. He pulled away from the teenager gently.

"What?"

"I said sorry"

"No need. You feel better?"

"My ass excepted?", Jeremy snorted

"Huh. I guess you do feel better. The attitude's back.", he pushed the boy's head, ruffling his hair a bit. Jeremy shifted away and let out a hiss at the motion, making Alaric chuckle. Jeremy smiled a bit in spite of himself.

"So, things are never going to be normal again, are they?", he asked, growing somber.

"Yeah, probably not. Look, Jeremy..."

"No. I think it's okay. I think I'm okay with it.", Alaric could see that he meant it, "I'm gonna go wash up a little. Can I use your shower?"

"Yeah, go ahead", Ric looked as he disappeared around the corner and wished for just one second that he didn't have to be okay with it. He wished he could have a chance to be a teenager, but this was life. And as Jeremy had put it earlier, it sucked. Alaric pulled out a bottle of bourbon and poured himself a drink.

Easier not to think about it.


End file.
